Kentucky bluegrass designated `Ba79-260`

ABSTRACT

A variety of Kentucky bluegrass plant having a high level of resistance to powdery mildew and a medium to high level of resistance to leaf spot, summer patch, melting out and brown patch; a deep green color throughout the growing season; the ability to form a medium to high quality turf under a wide variety of environmental conditions; a moderately narrow leaf blade; excellent winter color under mild winter conditions; and a high level of seed yielding capacity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Poa pratensis that has been designated `Ba79-260` Kentucky bluegrass.

2. Description of Related Art

Kentucky Bluegrasses have been disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,150, issued May 2, 1972; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,156, issued May 9, 1972; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,186, issued May 23, 1972; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,336, issued Nov. 28, 1978; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,280, issued Sep. 6, 1988; U.S. Plant Pat. Nos. 6,537 and 6,538, issued Jan. 17, 1989; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,585, issued Feb. 7, 1989; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,831, issued Mar. 17, 1992; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,490, issued Dec. 7, 1993; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,036, issued Jan. 3, 1995; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,209, issued Jul. 18, 1995; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,611, issued Jul. 23, 1996; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,848, issued Apr. 1, 1997: U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,977, issued Jul. 22, 1997; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,080, issued Oct. 21, 1997; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,081, issued Oct. 21, 1997; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,384, issued May 5, 1998; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,925, issued May 25, 1999 and pending U.S. plant patent application Ser. No. 09/032,057, filed Feb. 27, 1998, as well as U.S. plant patent application Ser. No. 09/120,718, filed Jul. 22, 1998.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIETY

`Ba79-260` plant material originated from a single plant that was a progeny resulting from crossing `Adelphi` Kentucky bluegrass (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,150), as the seed parent, with `Ba75-129`, an unreleased, unpatented Kentucky bluegrass plant grown and maintained in a plant nursery at the Scotts Company in Marysville, Ohio, as the pollen parent. As a result of this breeding, a distinct variety was produced and asexually propagated by rhizomes, tillers and disseminules. The highly apomictic seed of `Ba79-260` Kentucky bluegrass was produced first at Marysville, Ohio, and later at Gervais, Oreg. This seed was used to plant turf performance evaluation trials and later, seed production fields.

Asexual reproduction of `Ba79-260` initially was performed at Marysville, Ohio, by propagules (tillers and rhizomes) and by disseminules (modified caryopses produced by apomixis) and has consistently produced progeny plants indistinguishable from the first generation asexual reproductions of the instant plant. The apomixis level of `Ba79-260` is approximately 95% (plus or minus about 2.1%) based upon examining seedling characteristics of approximately 100 to 150 seedlings from different crop years in a growth chamber and any seedling with one or more characteristics different from other `Ba79-260` seedlings was classified as not being of apomictic origin.

`Ba79-260` has a number of highly desirable characteristics, including a medium to high level of resistance to Drechslera spp. that causes leaf spot and melting out; a high level of resistance to Erysiphe graminis that causes powdery mildew; a medium to high level of resistance to Magnaporthe poae that causes summer patch; and a high level of resistance to Rhizoctonia solani that causes brown patch. `Ba79-260` has an attractive, leafy dense turf; moderately narrow leaf blades; a deep green color which can be maintained throughout the entire growing season; and excellant winter color under mild winter conditions.

`Ba79-260` is an overall good turfgrass performer as evidenced by medium to high scores for quality and dark green color. `Ba79-260` has a high seed yield potential in the bluegrass seed production region of the northwestern United States.

In comparison with a number of other Kentucky blugrass varieties, `Ba79-260` has a significantly shorter seed and a higher number of seeds per pound than many other Kentucky bluegrasses. The culm and the uppermost internode of the culm are significantly longer than most other Kentucky bluegrass varieties observed. The flag leaf ligule has fewer hairs and the vegetative leaf has significantly fewer hairs on the collar margin than other Kentucky bluegrasses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a `Ba79-260` Kentucky bluegrass seed; and

FIG. 2 is a `Ba79-260` Kentucky bluegrass plant shortly after completing anthesis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

`Ba79-260` Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is perennial with creeping rhizomes forming a dense turf. When plants overwinter in the field under freezing temperatures and are then brought into the greenhouse during late winter to continue growth undisturbed by clipping under moderate temperatures (60-80° F.), culms are erect averaging 54.1 cm in length. The uppermost internode averages 11.1 cm length. The peduncle averages 26.4 cm in length and 0.91 mm in width. The vegetative leaf averages 25.8 cm in length, 4.7 mm in width, 0.19 mm in thickness and the ligule 0.36 mm in length. The flag leaf averages 6.9 cm in length, 3.6 mm in width, 0.10 mm in thickness and a ligule of 1.11 mm with the ligule having significantly fewer hairs than other varieties.

The panicle averages 8.9 cm in length, 7.5 cm in width, and has 5.3 whorls. The lowest whorl and the third whorl from the bottom of the panicle average 4.0 and 3.6 branches, respectively. A spikelet in the lowest whorl averages 5.0 mm in length, 2.0 mm in width, and 3.9 florets and the outer glume and inner glume average 2.8 mm and 3.1 mm in length and 0.6 mm and 0.7 mm in width, respectively. A spikelet from the third whorl from the bottom of the panicle averages 5.2 mm in length, 2.3 mm in width, 4.3 florets, and the outer glume and inner glume averages 3.1 mm and 3.3 mm in length and 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm in width, respectively. The level of hairs of the vegetative leaf on the sheath margin are less than average, on the leaf sheath dorsal side are less than average, on the upper ligule margin are less than average, and on the collar margin are significantly less than average for most varieties observed.

Since environmental conditions such as soil and climate may influence morphological characteristics to some extent, comparisons of `Ba79-260` were made with other Kentucky blugrass varities under like conditions and the comparisons are set forth in Tables 1-7, as follows:

                  TABLE 1                                                          ______________________________________                                         Morphological Comparisons of Peduncles, Culms, and                             Top Internodes of `Ba79-260` and Other Kentucky Bluegrass                      Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, Ohio.                                                                    Top                                                Peduncle  Peduncle  Culm    Internode                                 Variety  Length (cm)                                                                              Width (mm)                                                                               Length (cm)                                                                            Length (cm)                               ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260`                                                                              26.39     0.91      54.11   11.10                                     `Ba76-372`                                                                              26.54     1.27      38.52   9.00                                      `Abbey`  26.83     0.99      33.30   7.40                                      `Ascot`  18.76     0.67      38.25   5.79                                      `Famous` 20.99     1.04      48.88   8.85                                      `Goldrush`                                                                              19.26     0.89      43.05   7.44                                      `Nottingham`                                                                            26.70     1.19      39.20   9.42                                      `Raven`  26.12     0.78      55.32   11.64                                     `Sidekick`                                                                              27.22     0.91      55.88   10.36                                     LSD (.05)                                                                                2.76     0.11       3.64   1.56                                      ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 2                                                          ______________________________________                                         Morphological Comparisons of Vegetative Leaves of                              `Ba-79-260` and Other Kentucky Bluegrass                                       Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, Ohio.                                        Length   Width    Thickness                                                                              Ligule Length                               Variety  (cm)     (mm)     (mm)    (mm)                                        ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260`                                                                              25.81    4.65     0.19    0.36                                        `Ba76-372`                                                                              27.39    4.33     0.19    0.34                                        `Abbey`  23.42    4.02     0.20    0.40                                        `Ascot`  28.41    3.84     0.19    0.31                                        `Famous` 27.46    4.58     0.21    0.41                                        `Goldrush`                                                                              20.80    3.89     0.19    0.40                                        `Nottingham`                                                                            26.46    4.78     0.20    0.40                                        `Raven`  24.44    4.62     0.21    0.37                                        `Sidekick`                                                                              29.03    4.94     0.21    0.48                                        LSD (.05)                                                                                3.54    0.45     0.01    0.05                                        ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 3                                                          ______________________________________                                         Morphological Comparisons of Flag Leaves of `Ba79-260` and Other               Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, Ohio.                     Length  Width   Thickness                                                                             Ligule Length                                                                           Ligule                                Variety  (cm)    (mm)    (mm)   (mm)     Hair*                                 ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260`                                                                              6.90    3.55    0.104  1.11     0.90                                  `Ba76-372`                                                                              5.66    4.21    0.122  1.33     2.20                                  `Abbey`  3.57    2.99    0.109  0.91     1.60                                  `Ascot`  6.03    2.49    0.102  1.15     1.60                                  `Famous` 7.65    3.83    0.102  1.19     1.38                                  `Goldrush`                                                                              7.11    3.21    0.089  1.00     2.00                                  `Nottingham`                                                                            4.77    3.71    0.124  1.08     2.30                                  `Raven`  5.87    3.38    0.104  1.08     1.20                                  `Sidekick`                                                                              6.65    3.61    0.104  1.07     1.10                                  LSD (.05)                                                                               1.13    0.47    0.013   0.163   0.49                                  ______________________________________                                          *Rating 0-9; 0 = None; 9 = Many Hairs.                                   

                  TABLE 4                                                          ______________________________________                                         Morphological Comparisons for Panicle Length and Width, Whorl                  Number and Whorl Branches of `Ba79-260` and Other Kentucky                     Bluegrass Varieties Grown on in the Greenhouse in Marysville, Ohio.                   Panicle        Number of Branches                                                Length  Width                   Third                                 Variety  (cm)    (cm)    Whorl No.                                                                             Lowest Whorl                                                                            Whorl                                 ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260`                                                                              8.88    7.53    5.30   4.0      3.60                                  `Ba76-372`                                                                              8.51    7.44    6.90   4.3      4.10                                  `Abbey`  6.04    4.99    5.80   3.7      3.30                                  `Ascot`  10.03   7.01    4.20   2.2      2.00                                  `Famous` 12.11   8.11    6.22   4.2      3.78                                  `Goldrush`                                                                              10.25   6.63    5.70   3.6      3.50                                  `Nottingham`                                                                            8.08    7.15    7.00   4.4      4.40                                  `Raven`  8.15    6.36    5.30   4.0      3.20                                  `Sidekick`                                                                              11.22   3.52    5.50   2.8      2.60                                  LSD (.05)                                                                               0.92    1.21    0.61   0.6      0.53                                  ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 5                                                          ______________________________________                                         Morphological Comparisons of Spikelets and Florets of                          `Ba79-260` and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties                              in the Greenhouse at Marysville, Ohio.                                                Spikelet          No. of Florets                                               Lowest Whorl                                                                             Third Whorl per Spikelet                                               Length  Width   Length                                                                               Width Lowest                                                                               Third                               Variety  (mm)    (mm)    (mm)  (mm)  Whorl Whorl                               ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260`                                                                              5.03    2.01    5.16  2.31  3.9   4.3                                 `Ba76-372`                                                                              4.45    1.92    4.96  2.09  3.2   3.8                                 `Abbey`  4.67    1.85    4.54  1.94  3.1   3.1                                 `Ascot`  5.34    2.03    5.10  2.06  3.2   2.9                                 `Famous` 5.19    2.14    5.18  2.09  4.0   3.9                                 `Goldrush`                                                                              4.71    1.69    4.96  1.89  3.0   3.6                                 `Nottingham`                                                                            5.69    2.33    5.22  2.47  4.4   3.7                                 `Raven`  4.63    2.11    4.75  2.04  3.9   3.8                                 `Sidekick`                                                                              5.08    2.67    5.23  2.71  4.1   4.6                                 LSD (.05)                                                                                0.491   0.301   0.432                                                                               0.36  0.6   0.6                                 ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 6                                      __________________________________________________________________________     Morphological Comparisons of Glume Size of `Ba79-260` and Other Kentucky       Bluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, Ohio.                            Outer Glume     Inner Glume                                                    Lowest Whorl                                                                           Third Whorl                                                                            Lowest Whorl                                                                           Third Whorl                                            Length                                                                             Width                                                                              Length                                                                             Width                                                                              Length                                                                             Width                                                                              Length                                                                             Width                                       Variety                                                                               (mm)                                                                               (mm)                                                                               (mm)                                                                               (mm)                                                                               (mm)                                                                               (mm)                                                                               (mm)                                                                               (mm)                                        __________________________________________________________________________     `Ba79-260`                                                                            2.79                                                                               0.55                                                                               3.05                                                                               0.53                                                                               3.07                                                                               0.74                                                                               3.33                                                                               0.73                                        `Ba76-372`                                                                            2.51                                                                               0.54                                                                               2.79                                                                               0.59                                                                               3.10                                                                               0.74                                                                               3.35                                                                               0.82                                        `Abbey`                                                                               2.51                                                                               0.53                                                                               2.52                                                                               0.46                                                                               2.96                                                                               0.69                                                                               3.00                                                                               0.69                                        `Ascot`                                                                               3.92                                                                               0.50                                                                               3.74                                                                               0.56                                                                               4.13                                                                               0.71                                                                               4.03                                                                               0.68                                        `Famous`                                                                              2.99                                                                               0.56                                                                               2.91                                                                               0.64                                                                               3.38                                                                               0.74                                                                               3.36                                                                               0.73                                        `Goldrush`                                                                            2.65                                                                               0.51                                                                               3.07                                                                               0.62                                                                               3.41                                                                               0.76                                                                               3.70                                                                               0.81                                        `Nottingham`                                                                          2.99                                                                               0.61                                                                               2.91                                                                               0.57                                                                               3.31                                                                               0.81                                                                               3.33                                                                               0.67                                        `Raven`                                                                               2.85                                                                               0.53                                                                               2.87                                                                               0.47                                                                               3.11                                                                               0.74                                                                               3.09                                                                               0.68                                        `Sidekick`                                                                            3.27                                                                               0.52                                                                               3.41                                                                               0.63                                                                               3.51                                                                               0.65                                                                               3.69                                                                               0.73                                        LSD (.05)                                                                             0.31                                                                               0.10                                                                               0.30                                                                               0.11                                                                               0.29                                                                               0.14                                                                               0.28                                                                               0.12                                        __________________________________________________________________________

                  TABLE 7                                                          ______________________________________                                         Morphological Comparisons of the Level of Hairs on the Vegetative              Leaves of `Ba79-260` and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties                    in the Greenhouse at Marysville, Ohio.                                                                      Ligule                                                     Leaf Sheath                                                                              Leaf Sheath                                                                              Upper Collar                                                                               Leaf                                  Variety  Margin    Dorsal    Margin                                                                               Margin                                                                               Dorsal                                ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260`                                                                              1.80      1.0       3.1   2.2   1.0                                   `Ba76-372`                                                                              2.30      2.3       5.3   3.3   1.0                                   `Abbey`  3.10      2.7       6.3   3.6   1.0                                   `Ascot`  2.10      1.0       2.0   4.4   0.0                                   `Famous` 2.80      1.4       4.3   3.3   1.0                                   `Goldrush`                                                                              3.40      1.0       4.6   2.2   1.0                                   `Nottingham`                                                                            3.30      3.6       7.1   4.4   1.0                                   `Raven`  1.80      1.1       3.1   2.1   1.0                                   `Sidekick`                                                                              2.10      1.2       2.3   3.6   0.0                                   LSD (.05)                                                                               0.55      0.4       0.7   0.7   0.1                                   ______________________________________                                          *Rating Scale: 0-9; 0 = None; 9 = Many Hairs.                            

The seed of `Ba79-260` was conditioned by removing most of the extraneous materials which may have been harvested with the seed, such as small pieces of plant stems and leaves, soil particles, seed of other plants, hair attached to the seed and the like. This conditioned seed of `Ba79-260` averages 2.77 mm in length, 0.79 mm in width, and a rachilla length of 0.82 mm. It has an average level of hairs at the base of the lemma. `Ba79-260` has approximately 1,038,300 seeds per pound.

Comparisons of `Ba79-260` with other Kentucky bluegrass varieties in terms of seed numbers per pound and other seed characteristics are shown in Tables 8-9 as follows:

                  TABLE 8                                                          ______________________________________                                         Comparison of Seeds Per Pound of `Ba79-260` and Other                          Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties After Conditioning                                Variety       Seeds per Pound                                                  ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260`    1,038,300                                                        `Ba76-372`    1,127,400                                                        `Abbey`       1,003,000                                                        `Ascot`       1,039,400                                                        `Coventry`    1,374,700                                                        `Famous`      1,128,600                                                        `Goldrush`      942,700                                                        `Nottingham`  1,066,000                                                        `Raven`       1,127,100                                                        `Sidekick`      928,000                                                        LSD (.05)       38,080                                                         ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 9                                                          ______________________________________                                         Morphological Comparisons of Seed Length, Width,                               Rachilla Length, and Lemma Hairs of `Ba79-260` and                             Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties After Conditioning                                    Length   Width    Rachilla                                           Variety   (mm)     (mm)     (mm)   Lemma Hairs.sup.1/                          ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260`                                                                               2.77     0.79     0.82   2.33                                        `Ba76-372`                                                                               3.19     0.87     0.56   2.11                                        `Abbey`   3.02     0.85     0.56   1.80                                        `Ascot`   3.00     0.81     0.68   6.30                                        `Famous`  3.02     0.86     0.65   1.56                                        `Goldrush`                                                                               2.80     0.75     0.81   1.22                                        `Nottingham`                                                                             3.02     0.84     0.69   1.10                                        `Raven`   2.88     0.80     0.67   2.50                                        `Sidekick`                                                                               2.84     0.84     0.88   2.11                                        LSD (.05) 0.20     0.11     0.21   0.70                                        ______________________________________                                          .sup.1/ Rating Scale 0-9; 0 = None; 9 = Most Hairs.                      

`Ba79-260` has performed well throughout the U.S. as exhibited by medium turf quality ratings in comparison with other Kentucky bluegrass varities. In addition, it has a dark green color which can be maintained throughout the growing season.

With regard to a comparative analysis conducted for purposes of determining color of `Ba79-260` plants relative to other Kentucky bluegrass varieties, readings were taken of the vegetative color of `Ba79-260` during late May while the turf was actively growing with adequate nutrient and water availability. The readings were taken in full sun with several actively growing leaves being compared, one at a time, utilizing color chips from the Munsell Book of Color as a reference. On this basis, the color of `Ba79-260` was determined to be 7.5 GY 4/4. During the same time period, the color of similar leaves of other Kentucky bluegrass varieties were determined by the same procedure to be as follows: `Ascot` - 7.5 GY 4/4; `Goldrush` - 7.5 GY 4/4; `Nottingham` - 7.5 GY 4/6; `Midnight` - 7.5 GY 4/4; `Abbey` - 7.5 GY 4/6; and `Sidekick` - 7.5 GY 4/6. However, it should be noted that the general apparent color of turf does not always correlate directly with the color of the individual actively growing leaves within the turf and that turf color varies with nutrient level and time of year with some varieties being darker or lighter green, depending on such factors.

Comparisons of `Ba79-260` with other Kentucky bluegrass varieties for quality, genetic color, spring greenup, winter color, turf density, living ground cover, leaf texture and seed yield are set forth hereinafter in Tables 10-17, as follows:

                  TABLE 10                                                         ______________________________________                                         A Comparison of Quality of `Ba79-260` and Other Kentucky Bluegrass             Varieties as Affected by Climatic Regions in the U.S.                                     Transition    Cool-  Cool-                                          Variety    Zone.sup.1/   Arid.sup.2/                                                                           Humid.sup.3/                                   ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260` 5.5           5.3    6.1                                            `Ba76-372` 5.0           5.7    5.6                                            `Abbey`    5.2           5.7    5.7                                            `Ascot`    5.2           5.6    5.8                                            `Baron`    5.5           5.7    5.5                                            `Chateau`  5.7           6.0    6.1                                            `Classic`  5.3           6.0    6.1                                            `Coventry` 5.7           5.5    6.2                                            `Eclipse`  5.5           5.5    6.0                                            `Glade`    5.8           6.1    6.1                                            `Goldrush` 5.5           5.6    5.7                                            `Kenblue`  4.8           6.1    4.9                                            `Limousine`                                                                               5.7           5.3    6.3                                            `Midnight` 6.1           6.3    6.5                                            `Raven`    5.6           5.6    5.8                                            `Sidekick` 5.0           5.4    5.1                                            LSD (.05)  0.3           0.5    0.2                                            ______________________________________                                          Rating Scale: 0-9; 9 = Excellent.                                              .sup.1/ From 10 different locations in the U.S.                                .sup.2/ From 16 different locations in the U.S.                                .sup.3/ From 3 different locations in the U.S.                           

                  TABLE 11                                                         ______________________________________                                         A Comparison of Quality of `Ba79-260` and Other                                Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties as Affected by Mowing Height.                             Mowing Height                                                          Variety   1.1"-1.5".sup.1/                                                                           1.6"-2.0".sup.2/                                                                         2.1"-3.0".sup.3/                               ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260`                                                                               5.5         6.1       6.3                                            `Ba76-372`                                                                               4.9         5.9       5.8                                            `Abbey`   5.1         5.7       6.1                                            `Ascot`   5.3         5.8       5.8                                            `Baron`   5.0         5.7       6.2                                            `Chateau` 5.5         6.5       6.4                                            `Classic` 5.1         6.2       6.5                                            `Coventry`                                                                               5.5         6.2       6.5                                            `Eclipse` 5.4         6.2       6.2                                            `Glade`   5.7         6.5       6.0                                            `Goldrush`                                                                               5.2         5.5       6.2                                            `Kenblue` 4.2         4.9       6.0                                            `Limousine`                                                                              5.4         5.9       6.7                                            `Midnight`                                                                               6.2         6.4       6.3                                            `Raven`   5.3         5.9       6.4                                            `Sidekick`                                                                               4.4         5.3       5.6                                            LSD (.05) 0.3         0.4       0.4                                            ______________________________________                                          Rating Scale: 0-9; 9 = Excellent.                                              .sup.1/ From 10 different locations in the U.S.                                .sup.2/ From 4 different locations in the U.S.                                 .sup.3/ From 7 different locations in the U.S.                           

                  TABLE 12                                                         ______________________________________                                         A Comparison of Quality of `Ba79-260` and Other Kentucky                       Bluegrass Varieties As Affected By Nitrogen Rate.                                       Pounds of Nitrogen per 1,000 sq. ft.                                  Variety    2.1-3.0.sup.1/                                                                              3.1-4.0.sup.2/                                                                          4.1 +.sup.3/                                  ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260` 6.1          5.8      5.6                                           `Ba76-372` 5.8          5.3      5.2                                           `Abbey`    6.1          5.4      5.2                                           `Ascot`    5.8          5.5      5.7                                           `Baron`    6.2          5.4      5.0                                           `Chateau`  6.4          5.9      5.6                                           `Classic`  6.5          5.9      4.9                                           `Coventry` 6.3          5.8      5.7                                           `Eclipse`  6.1          5.8      5.4                                           `Glade`    6.2          6.1      5.7                                           `Goldrush` 6.2          5.5      5.3                                           `Kenblue`  5.8          4.7      4.3                                           `Limousine`                                                                               6.5          5.9      5.8                                           `Midnight` 6.2          6.3      6.5                                           `Raven`    6.3          5.6      5.3                                           `Sidekick` 5.6          5.1      4.6                                           LSD (.05)  0.4          0.2      0.4                                           ______________________________________                                          Rating Scale: 0-9; 9 = Excellent.                                              .sup.1/ From 8 different locations in the U.S.                                 .sup.2/ From 14 different locations in the U.S.                                .sup.3/ From 7 different locations in the U.S.                           

                  TABLE 13                                                         ______________________________________                                         A Comparison of Genetic Color, Spring Greenup and Winter Color of              `Ba79-260` and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties.                                       Genetic      Spring   Winter                                         Variety   Color.sup.1/ Greenup.sup.2/                                                                          Color.sup.3/                                   ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260`                                                                               7.6          5.4      5.8                                            `Abbey`   6.4          5.6      5.0                                            `Ascot`   7.1          5.1      4.5                                            `Baron`   6.4          5.5      5.2                                            `Chateau` 6.2          5.6      5.0                                            `Classic` 5.8          6.4      6.0                                            `Coventry`                                                                               6.4          5.6      4.7                                            `Eclipse` 6.5          5.6      5.3                                            `Glade`   6.8          5.7      5.3                                            `Goldrush`                                                                               6.4          5.5      4.8                                            `Kenblue` 5.4          6.2      5.3                                            `Limousine`                                                                              6.3          5.5      4.3                                            `Midnight`                                                                               7.7          5.6      5.7                                            `Raven`   6.2          5.6      4.5                                            `Sidekick`                                                                               6.3          5.5      5.2                                            LSD (.05) 0.2          0.3      0.8                                            ______________________________________                                          Ratings 1-9; 9 = Dark Green, Faster Greening.                                  .sup.1/ From 27 different locations in the U.S.                                .sup.2/ From 14 different locations in the U.S.                                .sup.3/ From 2 different locations in the U.S.                           

                  TABLE 14                                                         ______________________________________                                         A Comparison of Turf Density of `Ba79-260` and                                 Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties                                                      Turf Density                                                          Variety    Spring.sup.1/                                                                               Summer.sup.2/                                                                           Fall.sup.3/                                   ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260` 5.9          6.6      6.7                                           `Ba76-372` 5.5          6.2      6.6                                           `Abbey`    6.0          6.4      6.4                                           `Ascot`    5.7          6.5      6.6                                           `Baron`    5.8          6.3      6.4                                           `Chateau`  6.1          6.8      6.8                                           `Classic`  6.2          7.0      6.9                                           `Coventry` 6.1          6.5      7.0                                           `Eclipse`  5.8          6.5      6.7                                           `Glade`    6.4          6.8      7.0                                           `Goldrush` 5.9          6.5      6.5                                           `Kenblue`  5.8          6.5      6.5                                           `Limousine`                                                                               6.7          7.0      7.3                                           `Midnight` 6.3          6.7      7.0                                           `Raven`    6.1          6.7      6.3                                           `Sidekick` 5.3          6.1      6.2                                           LSD (.05)  0.4          0.5      0.3                                           ______________________________________                                          Density Rating: 1-9; 9 = Maximum Density.                                      .sup.1/ From 8 different locations in the U.S.                                 .sup.2/ From 9 different locations in the U.S.                                 .sup.3/ From 12 different locations in the U.S.                          

                  TABLE 15                                                         ______________________________________                                         A Comparison of Living Ground Cover of `Ba79-260` and                          Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties.                                                     Living Ground Cover                                                   Variety    Spring.sup.1/                                                                               Summer.sup.2/                                                                            Fall.sup.3/                                  ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260` 71.8         80.8     92.3                                          `Ba76-372` 62.2         76.1     90.0                                          `Abbey`    70.0         84.1     92.8                                          `Ascot`    65.9         77.1     83.2                                          `Baron`    72.1         85.6     93.1                                          `Chateau`  77.8         92.5     95.6                                          `Classic`  84.1         95.0     96.3                                          `Coventry` 69.4         84.2     93.0                                          `Eclipse`  67.4         82.7     94.5                                          `Glade`    69.3         83.7     93.6                                          `Goldrush` 69.8         79.8     92.4                                          `Kenblue`  75.4         84.8     93.0                                          `Limousine`                                                                               76.0         87.3     91.3                                          `Midnight` 62.5         80.3     92.2                                          `Raven`    77.5         88.8     93.2                                          `Sidekick` 61.6         77.3     89.5                                          LSD (.05)   7.2          7.5      5.5                                          ______________________________________                                          Rating = Percent Living Ground Cover.                                          .sup.1/ From 8 different locations in the U.S.                                 .sup.2/ From 6 different locations in the U.S.                                 .sup.3/ From 6 different locations in the U.S.                           

                  TABLE 16                                                         ______________________________________                                         A Comparison of Leaf Texture of `Ba79-260` and                                 Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties.                                            Variety       Leaf Texture.sup.1/                                              ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260`    6.1                                                              `Ba76-372`    5.3                                                              `Abbey`       5.7                                                              `Ascot`       6.1                                                              `Baron`       5.7                                                              `Chateau`     5.5                                                              `Classic`     6.2                                                              `Coventry`    5.6                                                              `Eclipse`     6.1                                                              `Glade`       6.6                                                              `Goldrush`    6.0                                                              `Kenblue`     7.0                                                              `Limousine`   7.3                                                              `Midnight`    6.4                                                              `Raven`       5.6                                                              `Sidekick`    5.0                                                              LSD (.05)     0.2                                                              ______________________________________                                          Texture Rating: 1-9; 9 = Fine Texture.                                         .sup.1/ From 23 different locations in the U.S.                          

                  TABLE 17                                                         ______________________________________                                         A Comparison of Seed Yield (Pounds per Acre) of                                `Ba79-260` and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in                           Three (3) Tests Conducted at Gervais, Oregon.                                           Seed Yield (Lb/Acres)                                                 Variety    Test 1       Test 2  Test 3                                         ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260` 966          217     877                                            `Abbey`    755          166     806                                            `Coventry` 569           96     204                                            LSD (.05)  153           44     123                                            ______________________________________                                    

Turf diseases are one of the major causes of inconsistent and poor turf performance. `Ba79-260` has been found to have a medium to high level of resistance to leaf spot and melting out caused by Drechslera poae (formerly called Helminthosporium vagans); summer patch caused by Magnaporthe poae; brown patch caused by Rhizoctonia solani; and powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe graminis.

Comparisons of disease incidence of `Ba79-260` as compared with other Kentucky bluegrass varieties in regard to leaf spot, summer patch, powdery mildew, melting out and brown patch are presented in Table 18 as follows:

                  TABLE 18                                                         ______________________________________                                         A Comparison of Diseases of `Ba79-260` and                                     Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties.                                                     Leaf   Summer  Powdery                                                                               Melting                                         Variety  Spot.sup.1/                                                                           Patch.sup.2/                                                                           Mildew.sup.3/                                                                         Out.sup.4/                                                                           Brown Patch.sup.5/                        ______________________________________                                         `Ba79-260`                                                                              6.0    7.3     8.3    7.0   6.7                                       `Ba76-372`                                                                              5.7    2.3     8.7    6.0   6.2                                       `Abbey`  3.4    6.7     6.7    6.0   3.8                                       `Ascot`  6.9    5.7     8.7    8.0   6.7                                       `Baron`  4.1    6.3     6.0    4.8   4.0                                       `Chateau`                                                                               5.6    5.0     8.7    7.0   4.7                                       `Classic`                                                                               6.3    7.3     8.3    6.3   5.3                                       `Coventry`                                                                              5.3    6.7     8.7    7.0   6.8                                       `Eclipse`                                                                               5.7    8.7     8.7    7.0   6.5                                       `Glade`  4.8    6.7     6.7    7.2   4.8                                       `Goldrush`                                                                              3.8    6.0     7.0    5.3   5.0                                       `Kenblue`                                                                               3.2    4.0     8.3    1.3   2.8                                       `Limousine`                                                                             6.3    7.0     8.7    7.7   5.7                                       `Midnight`                                                                              6.9    6.7     5.3    7.8   7.2                                       `Raven`  3.5    6.3     6.7    6.5   4.8                                       `Sidekick`                                                                              4.4    8.0     8.0    4.5   3.3                                       LSD (.05)                                                                               1.7    1.8     1.4    1.1   2.3                                       ______________________________________                                          Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = No Disease.                                             .sup.1/ From Maine                                                             .sup.2/ From New Jersey                                                        .sup.3/ From Maryland                                                          .sup.4/ From Maryland and Pennsylvania                                         .sup.5/ From Maine                                                        

What is claimed is:
 1. A new and distinct variety of Kentucky bluegrass plant, substantially as herein shown and described. 